I can follow in the footsteps of Scotland's great leaders against England

Since being told I was being made Scotland captain earlier this week I have received nothing but complete support from Kelly Brown who led the team against Ireland.

Kelly is a top man. He offered me his congratulations and advice when he heard I would be taking over from him against England.

These are certainly big shoes I am filling because Kelly is a fabulous captain and team-mate and a great man. Of course he was disappointed not to be playing today but I’ve absolutely no doubt he will be involved with Scotland again very soon.

Big opportunity: Greig Laidlaw will captain Scotland against England at Murrayfield on Saturday

It is now up to me to take over the captaincy and lead by example just as Kelly did when he was first out of the tunnel.

To be handed the captaincy for the Calcutta Cup match against England is the highlight of my career. I can’t wait for the game to start.

Being named captain last summer for the away match against South Africa was a huge honour. To then lead the team out against Italy and once again against the Springboks, this time at Murrayfield in November, was also a huge thrill.

But today I am captain against England. In the Six Nations. At Murrayfield. Rugby matches don’t get much bigger than that.

It is important though that this day is remembered not just for the captaincy. It won’t be complete unless it ends with Scotland lifting the Calcutta Cup.

A win is the only thing on my mind and we can achieve it. It is time to be inspired by great captains of the past like Jason White and Mike Blair. Even further back to the days when Jim Aitken lifted the Calcutta Cup on the way to the 1984 Grand Slam.

Focused: Laidlaw shows off his kicking in Scotland's defeat to Ireland last weekend

And of course who will ever forget David Sole’s 1990 team which beat England to lift the 1990 Grand Slam?

Looking closer to him, I would love to follow my uncle Roy Laidlaw and my hero Gary Armstrong – both of whom played scrum-half for Jed-Forest and Scotland – and who enjoyed Calcutta Cup success during their careers.

But it is important not to let the captaincy affect my approach to the game or the way I play.The scrum-half is the lynch-pin between backs and forwards and just because we are playing England doesn’t change anything.

Of course it is important to strike the right note before the match but everybody knows the importance of this fixture. The team doesn’t need anyone in the dressing room shouting and bawling to try and get them up for a game of this magnitude.

There has, of course, been a lot said about the state of the Murrayfield pitch but that won’t bother me at all. Maybe I have an advantage having played on it all season with Edinburgh.

If the weather is bad and the pitch cuts up then so be it. It will be the same for both teams although it will be interesting to see how the scrum holds up.

Ready to go: Scotland's players take part in the captain's run at Murrayfield on Friday

I won’t be making any special preparations and will be wearing my usual boots when I run out on the park.

The pitch is what it is. What am I going to do about it? I have to just get on with things and adapt to the conditions.

We all know we let ourselves and the supporters down last week with the way we lost in Dublin but the beauty of the Six Nations is that there has only been a six-day gap between that match and the one today against England.

That meant we didn’t have any time to wallow in the defeat. We had to immediately focus our minds on the England game.

That defeat to Ireland is out of our system now and we want to put things right by leaving Murrayfield with a win under our belts.

Even though we are playing at home, many people will still have Scotland down as underdogs. That’s fine. Sometimes when our backs are against the wall we react better and come out fighting.

Tough task: England's players will be hoping to bounce back from their narrow defeat to France last Saturday

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